This application is a continuation and claims the benefit of International Patent Application No. PCT/CN00/00073 filed Apr. 3, 2000, published in Chinese as WO 00/64532, which claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 99104583.1 of Caijun Sun entitled xe2x80x9cCANCER ELECTROCHEMICAL-THERAPEUTIC DEVISE USING ELECTROTHERMAL NEEDLESxe2x80x9d filed on Apr. 23, 1999. The present invention relates to a device which is a kind of therapy instrument, in which electrothermal needles are used as electrodes for tumor electrochemical therapy, whereby electrothermal therapy can be effected in addition.
Electrothermal needles and electrochemistry techniques have been used separately for tumor therapy for more than ten years. The current that is produced after switching on the power supply is used by both techniques, on the one hand, for activating the heating body within the hollow body of the electrothermal needle to produce heat and effecting the heat on the tumor focus tissue where the electrothermal needles are inserted, and on the other hand, for activating both the positive and negative electrodes which are inserted into the tumor focus so that the electrode reaction and the electrode sub-reaction occur between both the positive and negative electrodes, and concentrated acid and alkali killing regions are produced respectively between both electrodes to achieve the result of the electrochemistry therapy. Because these two techniques for tumor therapy are used separately in clinic, the temperature of the therapy in which only the electrothermal needles for treating the tumor focus are used is difficult to control. In particular, the temperature can not be increased evenly when the diameter of the tumor tissue is large. Although tumor cells can be killed by using electrochemistry therapy only, problems, such as uneven heating, as well as being unable to synchronize, etc., still exist.
The object of the invention is to overcome the above disadvantages by being aimed at utilizing the features of the coordination, supplement, and effectiveness of electrothermal needles and electrochemical-therapy techniques at the effective mechanism of physics, chemistry, and biology to integrate effectively the electrothermal needles and the electrochemical-therapeutic techniques as a whole to provide a tumor electrochemical-therapeutic device using electrothermal needles.
The object of the invention is realized by using the following technical scheme. It is constructed by at least two groups of electrothermal needles and three D.C. power supplies, wherein, at least one electrothermal needle within which a heating body is placed is involved in each group; wherein two of the three D.C. power supplies connected respectively to the heating bodies within the two groups of electrothermal needles are used as the heating power supplies, and the other power supply is used as the electrochemical power supply with its two electrodes connected respectively to the corresponding electrodes of two heating power supplies.
The electrothermal needle of the invention includes a group of center electrothermal needles comprising at least one electrothermal needle, and a group of surrounding electrothermal needles comprising at least two electrothermal needles. The center electrothermal needle has a heating power supply with its one electrode (e.g. positive electrode) connected to the same electrode (e.g. the positive electrode) of the electrochemical power supply, and the another corresponding electrode (e.g. the negative electrode) of the heating power supply for the surrounding electrothermal needle is connected to another same electrode (e.g. the negative electrode) of the electrochemical power supply.
Both the heating power supply and the electrochemical power supply are floating D.C. constant current adjustable power supplies, wherein the magnitude of electrochemical current can be adjusted by the electrochemical power supply and the heating temperature of electrothermal needle can be adjusted by the heating power supply.
The electrothermal needle of the invention is a hollow needle body made of stainless steel, with a heating body made of nichrome filament placed inside, and the center electrothermal needle is coated with platinum.
A temperature detection needle is also provided in the invention, it is constructed by inserting and isolating a thermal sensor for detecting the temperature into and from the hollow needle body made of stainless steel, and a temperature indicator is connected to the thermal sensor for detecting the temperature.